Poetry and aimless musings of a Zen Buddhist layman, mostly about compassion.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

The Sinclair Effect

I think how we treat our
animals reflects how we treat each other.

- Barack Obama

In fact,
how we treat our animalsaffectshow we treat each other.

At the turn of the 20th
century, Upton Sinclair exposed the devastating work conditions and living
environments of those who toiled in Chicago’s stockyard slaughterhouses. In The Jungle he made a connection between the numerous
after-work fights instigated by slaughterhouse workers and the killing and
dismembering of animals all day at work.

The findings indicate that slaughterhouse employment
increases total arrest rates, arrests for violent crimes, arrests for rape, and
arrests for other sex offenses in comparison with other industries. This
suggests the existence of a Sinclair effect unique to the violent workplace of
the slaughterhouse, a factor that has not previously been examined in the
sociology of violence.

Albert
Einstein had a suggestion:

A human being is a part of
the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the
rest. A kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind
of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a
few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the
whole of nature in its beauty.

and

If a man aspires towards a
righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals.

Others
have written in a similar vein.

We can judge the heart of a
man by his treatment of animals.

- Immanuel Kant

The greatness of a nation
and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

- Gandhi

Until he extends the circle
of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.

- Albert Schweitzer

As long as people will shed
the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony
between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together.

- Isaac Bashevis Singer

But
slaughter and beauty do dwell together, among us.

I expect
to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any
kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now.
Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

I see so many interesting correlations here! How we treat each other (and animals) is a reflection of how we feel about ourselves... Seeking external power *over* rather than authentic power... Training young people to kill, sending them to war, some returning as murderers, killing their wives, or others and we wonder what went wrong... Parents being violent with their children both physically and emotionally, breeding violence behind closed doors - domestic violence... We learn to treat others the way we have been treated... And then there's the children who are left home alone to watch violent TV and computer games... It seems there is no end in "the matrix" - where so many are "disconnected" from the "Source" of the Universe...

Thanks yet again for shining a light into a very dark place. The juxtaposition of the elegant and dignifying orchestra against the ugly bitterness of the gestation crate is almost too hard to grasp. And once you know that the other side exists it's even more impossible to separate the unconscionable from the "civilized". It's such a thin veneer in between the two. More light on this truth helps. I'm grateful for it.

I've not been here for a while, David - things have been tough. I visit and I'm blown open by your willingness to engage with these things. We SO need to speak and keep speaking of them. Thank you for your courage, your heart (coeurage) and your compassion. With love - Roselle